Thank you so much for your continued prayer.  At the end of February till early March, I experienced a wonderful trip in Cambodia.

Retreat

In Siem Reap I enjoyed a well planed retreat in a hotel. There are missionaries from the United States, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos, who are working in Asian countries.  Every 3 or 4 years, we have a chance to meet together.  In the past eight years, all of us have changed a lot, e.g. those who were single before  are married now.  Those who were newly married now have children.  Those young missionary kids have now become teenagers, and some even volunteered to help in taking care of the toddlers at this retreat.  However, one thing remained unchanged: by the grace of God, all are able to stand firm and continue to serve in different mission fields.  I have a firm sense of being on the same pilgrimage.

For years, these are the few messages that touched me.  Every recess time, I went back to the room or found a quiet corner in the hotel lobby to write in my journal, continuing the dialogue with God, who initiated the dialogue during the sessions. But, I felt the issues were not adequately discussed and it was not finished yet. I wanted to find a place and time to meditate and pray over them again in Hong Kong. Thank God, after a rest for nearly two years, I had room in my heart to hear the Words once more.

Life in Phnom Penh and the village

After the retreat, we went back to Phnom Penh. When I was free, I went to the market to buy food and cook for the missionaries from Hong Kong.  We could enjoy "a family meal" together.  When we had meetings in the village, we had to be prepared for the hot weather.  That meant bringing along a "frozen" herbal drink prepared the night before, plus a towel and shampoo to take shower during the scalding noon time in order to cool down the body temperature.

When I met the missionaries of our team and the Cambodian pastors and leaders, emotional reaction patterns appeared again.  I tried to pray and hand all the problems into the hands of God.  I tried not to take up other people's burdens (learning to set appropriate boundaries), did deep breathing exercises, relaxed my shoulders, etc., and asked myself how Jesus would see these people and issues.

At the end of the 3-day annual meeting, we had a time of grief for our late Rev. Samuel Sar, who went to be with our Lord before Christmas last year. He was one of our first two ordained Cambodia Free Methodist pastors. I got a chance to grieve at the home village of Pastor Sar together with our Cambodian brothers and sisters in Christ.

When I visited the Kaoh Ksachtunlea East Church and the House of Joy, I found out that in only two years' time, some kids have grown so fast that they were a head taller than I am.  Some boys and girls were worship team members and led prayer time during the Sunday worship.  Some people asked when I would come back to Cambodia.  I asked them to pray for me that the Lord will grant me strength and stable emotions to face different situations. Please continue to pray for me!

Praise the Lord that He blesses me through my boss, colleagues, and brothers & sisters in Christ, who are so caring and supportive.

(Special thanks to Jim & Margaret's detailed ministry in the retreat,  Miu Ling's hospitality, the pick-up service of Chris, Joel, Davis and Paul.  P.S. "my boss" refers to Pastor Polly Ho.:-))

In Him

Rebecca